Squamish Oceanfront Artistic Bench Public Art Opportunity

Sp’akw’us Feather Park is a new 12.5 acre park, located at the tip of Átl’ka7tsem (Howe Sound), formerly known as Nexen Beach. Following the shut down of Nexen’s chlor-alkali plant
in 1992, extensive environmental remediation was completed on this site to remove mercury
effluent from the land and water. Once completed and through a community envisioning
process, plans were set in motion to develop public access to the ocean. The vision for the
Sp’akw’us Feather park is to provide unfettered access to Átl’ka7tsem for kiteboarders,
windsurfers, paddle boarders, cold dippers, canoeists and beach-goers alike as well as provide a gathering space for communities to meet at the confluence of the ocean, mountains and rivers. The future park will host two pocket beaches, an intertidal marsh bench and dedicated habitat areas, public art, nature-based playground, interpretive signage, trails and more. This long awaited vision for the park is about to become a reality.

This call to Artists is aimed at artists living and working in Squamish or members of the Squamish Nation in all locations.

• Call for artist portfolios: Feb 3
• Phase 1 Due date: March 1
• Phase 2 Notification: March 9
• Phase 2 Due Date: April 14
• Final Award Notification: April 21
• Delivery on Site: September 5

The artist will provide design, labour and materials to construct a safe and aesthetically pleasing bench that will live in Sp’akw’us Feather Park in Squamish, BC. The artwork will be installed in the location shown in the site plan below. The art piece will serve as both a functional seating and public art, and will express, artistically, the land and community. The bench will be located near the playground, looking out over Átl’ka7tsem, providing a resting spot for park go-ers to pause and enjoy the view.

• Bench will be designed to fit in a concrete pad sized 3.75m by 2.0 m. The bench dimensions should be no greater than 3.0m by 620mm to allow for ample room to both sit and move around the bench.
• The bench is intended to be permanent and must be structurally sound, durable, low maintenance, vandal-resistant, functional, and safe for public use.
• Artists should have experience in working with materials which are suitable for exterior exposure.
• Designs shall not include any breach of intellectual property, trademarks, brands or images of illegal activity.
• Design must consider accessibility and have ample backrest and armrest. These measurements allow easy transfer for the user.
  • The armrest provides ease of ingress and egress for the user. The armrest should be an estimate of 150 mm from the seat.
    ○ The bench should have a minimum seat height of 405 mm-500 mm from the ground and a backrest with an estimated height of 450 mm.
• Maintenance requirements for the benches must be provided.
• A minimum 5-year warranty must be provided.

The bench should:

• Engage people and capture the essence of the site and of the community of Squamish
• Integrate with the site design and its surrounding elements.
• Be resilient to the environmental conditions that can be expected in Squamish.

The selected artist will be responsible for designing, constructing, and delivering the bench to site. The finished bench will be installed on the concrete pad by others. However, the artist is responsible for providing any surface or concrete mounting and anchor system for the
installation of the bench. The artist will also be responsible for supervising the installation of the bench.

PHASE 1

The following must be submitted in PDF form to info@squamishartscouncil.com:

• Current resume or bio
• Artist portfolio including images of previous work
• A brief description of your intended design (250 words or less)
• Agreement to scheduled timeline as listed above
• Agreement to the feasibility of a total fee of $5,500 ($500 for design and $5,000 for final delivery)

PHASE 2 (for two chosen artists)

• Artists may submit multiple designs. The following must be submitted:
• Written description of suggested artistic work and concept, including dimensions, materials and attachment mechanism
• Projected timeline
• Drawings of suggested artistic work and concept. Designs must be to scale and must include dimensions, including thickness. Design submissions may be hand drawn or prepared using a computer software program.
• An explanation of why the design is appropriate for this site
• Identification of proposed fabricator (which may be the artist)
• Estimated life span of the bench/proposed warranty
• Costs (please include all-inclusive price, breaking out subtotal, taxes and total)